Michael D. Shear

White House Correspondent

Feb. 5, 2019, 10:49 PM ET

In some ways, this is more powerful because it’s not being interrupted by applause. Usually it seems weird. But she seems to be able to summon enthusiasm even though she’s just staring into a camera, not being egged on by supporters.

MH

Maggie Haberman

White House Correspondent

Feb. 5, 2019, 10:50 PM ET

Very striking — Abrams says she doesn’t want Trump “to fail,” but wants him to tell the truth.

MH

Maggie Haberman

White House Correspondent

Feb. 5, 2019, 10:50 PM ET

She is drawing a line against criticisms from Republicans that Democrats are looking to tear Trump down and using whatever means they can to do so.

AK

Annie Karni

White House Correspondent

Feb. 5, 2019, 10:51 PM ET

This is also a striking response if you consider the Democratic response to Trump’s primetime Oval Office address. This was much more dynamic than Chuck and Nancy were in that moment.

KR

Katie Rogers

White House Correspondent

Feb. 5, 2019, 10:52 PM ET

Absolutely no one was paying attention to Abrams at the Trump hotel. People were standing in a corner watching Sean Spicer prepare to go on television.

MS

Michael D. Shear

White House Correspondent

Feb. 5, 2019, 10:52 PM ET

Yes! I thought the same thing, Annie. It was way more eloquent than Chuck and Nancy, who were wooden and awkward.

AB

Alexander Burns

National Political Correspondent

Feb. 5, 2019, 10:52 PM ET

That was a very broad, thematic response – you didn’t have a to-do list of legislative goals, the way you might have gotten with a Democratic spokesperson from Congress. It was really a statement of principles, more than anything else.

MS

Michael D. Shear

White House Correspondent

Feb. 5, 2019, 10:53 PM ET

Alex, I think she was smart to avoid getting drawn into the Washington world of legislative back-and-forth. If the Democrats are going to use someone outside of the Beltway like her, then they should embrace that.

KR

Katie Rogers

White House Correspondent

Feb. 5, 2019, 10:54 PM ET

Nice welcoming hand gestures. That’s all I got! It was muted here at the Trump hotel.

AB

Alexander Burns

National Political Correspondent

Feb. 5, 2019, 10:54 PM ET

One thing that occurs to me: think about the difference in Democratic speakers between tonight and the last time Democrats took back (some) power in Congress, in 2007. That year, Democrats designated Jim Webb, a newly elected senator from Virginia who was a white military veteran and economic populist, to rebut George W. Bush. This year, it was Abrams, a liberal African-American woman from Georgia who has championed Medicaid expansion and voting rights. The difference says a lot about how the party has changed in 12 years, and how it perceives the country having changed.

AK

Annie Karni

White House Correspondent

Feb. 5, 2019, 10:55 PM ET

Also notable that the response included issues Trump didn’t address: voting rights, racism. A reminder of the large gulf between the parties, after a night where the president tried to highlight bipartisan issues.

KR

Katie Rogers

White House Correspondent

Feb. 5, 2019, 10:57 PM ET

You know who didn’t come up? Josh Trump, the young boy the first lady invited to the speech tonight.

The White House said he was bullied because of his last name. Maybe they thought primetime exposure wouldn’t be very productive.

MH

Maggie Haberman

White House Correspondent

Feb. 5, 2019, 10:57 PM ET

It could be sort of counterproductive to thrust kids into the spotlight as a way to combat bullying, as admirable as it is to oppose bullying of children for any reason.

MH

Maggie Haberman

White House Correspondent

Feb. 5, 2019, 10:57 PM ET

Alex, that’s a great point about the change.

AK

Annie Karni

White House Correspondent

Feb. 5, 2019, 10:57 PM ET

I think a lasting image of the night will be the women in white cheering for themselves.

MH

Maggie Haberman

White House Correspondent

Feb. 5, 2019, 10:57 PM ET

Annie, I agree.

FC

Fact Check

Feb. 5, 2019, 10:58 PM ET

Stacey Abrams, delivering the Democratic response, mentioned that Republican state attorneys general have sued to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.

This is true.

A coalition of Republican attorneys general have on several occasions filed lawsuits in federal court to try to block provisions of the Obama administration’s health care program, including a February 2018 lawsuit. A Texas judge in December 2018 struck down the entire Affordable Care Act based on this lawsuit. But that decision has not been applied nationwide while it is appealed.

FC

Fact Check

Feb. 5, 2019, 11:00 PM ET

President Trump said one of his major priorities now was “to protect patients with pre-existing conditions.”

This is misleading.

The Trump administration has refused in court to defend crucial provisions of the Affordable Care Act that protect people with pre-existing medical conditions. In a court case filed by Texas and 19 other states, the Justice Department has said these provisions should be invalidated because they were part of an unconstitutional scheme that required most Americans to carry health insurance. The administration also supported efforts by congressional Republicans in 2017 to dismantle the health law and weaken its protections for pre-existing conditions.

AK

Annie Karni

White House Correspondent

Feb. 5, 2019, 11:09 PM ET

One last thing worth sharing before we wrap up, regarding a statement I made earlier. A reader emails: “While it’s true that the Hebrew Bible does not mention an afterlife, there is a complex eschatology that includes a very detailed map of the Jewish afterlife contained in rabbinic, kabbalistic and Hasidic literature.”

HB

Hamilton Boardman

Senior Editor

Feb. 5, 2019, 11:12 PM ET

And with that, thank you all for joining us tonight for our live coverage of the State of the Union. And a special thanks to our contributors tonight.